How I Saved Money on Our Summer Vacation

How I Saved Money on Our Summer Vacation

My Dream Vacation

My fellow teachers and I were talking at lunch recently about what our dream vacation would be. What would be my dream vacation? I think taking our entire family to Disney World, staying at a rental property with all the amenities like home but better, more upscale with an inground pool, tennis, golf, and good restaurants nearby. We don’t mind cooking to save money, but it would be nice to have a cook come in once in a while. It would also be great not to have to stand in line for breakfast when the time could be used for more enjoyable activities.

How I Saved Money on Our Summer Vacation

But, for this summer vacation that isn’t how it’s going to be. We live near the beach but we want to get away from the familiar. In order to have a vacation with our kids and grandkids, we needed to find ways to save money on accommodations. In planning our summer vacation, I found it’s actually possible to stay at a summer vacation rental property for less than the cost of a hotel to accommodate 8 people…and another benefit is you have much more space and freedom to do what you want…while saving money. Maybe next year, we’ll be able to take our dream vacation near Disney World after all!

My “Reality” Vacation

But what is my “reality” vacation? For the first time, we’ve reserved a small vacation home for a one week vacation on Long Beach Island with our children and grandchildren. We’ll be between the bay and the ocean, both a short walk from the summer vacation rental. The house is small, but it sleeps 8 and besides we don’t plan to be indoors much at all. There is plenty to do and ways to relax outdoors. That’s why we chose that location.

I went online and searched summer vacation rental properties and was able to easily narrow the worldwide search to the location, price, and sleeping accommodations I wanted. Fortunately, we found a summer vacation rental property that allowed pets so we are able to bring our small dog – which will save us a lot of money by not having to put him in a doggy hotel. The website I used was HomeAway Vacation Rentals. I was able to view the property inside and out, find immediately when it is available, and the summer rental fees. It is also near our son’s father-in-law’s summer home, which makes it extra special for all of us. We’re looking forward to a great vacation – in fact we just rented it for another week later in the summer.

Save Our Summer Vacation Petition to Congress

While searching HomeAway.com, I found they have a petition to Save Our Summer Vacation with a National movement to have Congress declare Aug 7 as National Vacation Day. We all deserve to have a summer vacation day, why not make it a national day of fun and relaxation to relieve the stress – especially in this economy! To help HomeAway.com accomplish this, visit their site and sign the petition – get your family and friends to do it, too. Be a part of the fun!

$10,000 Dream Vacation Contest

I also found they have a contest to win a $10,000 Dream Vacation. If you are the person who is most deserving of a week-long summer vacation ( I know I am!) all you have to do is to submit a short text, video or photo entry explaining why you deserve to have your vacation saved by HomeAway. Be sure to submit your entry by July 2 to be eligible.

Enjoy your summer. I know we will (hope I win the $10,000 Dream Vacation contest, too!) Enjoy National Vacation Day…don’t forget to sign that petition, too.

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Jersey Shore Grandmother of 5 great kids, retired special ed high school teacher, married since 1972 to Poppy...loves spoiling the grands, crocheting for whomever I can and charities, reading, crafts, outdoors, blogging...and retirement.

I know you’ll love your beach house vacation. We’ve rented a house with our kids and grandchildren several times, and it has always worked out great. We actually enjoy not having to go out for all of our meals. The Internet makes finding good accommodations easy. And you’re right that you can save some major bucks!

I’ve actually written an article about a do-it-yourself resort vacation, for those times when you want the resort experience but can’t afford it. You might enjoy some of my hints.

When you’re planning a holiday the last thing you want is to have problems with the place that you’re staying in. You want a great place to stay, you want it to be clean and convenient. With the growth of World Wide Web, Online apartment reservation has become easier and a most popular task. It has brought a dynamic change in the field of apartment booking.